1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for testing ship's engines and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for testing the performance of the engine of a ship while the engine is installed in the hull of a ship.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Tests are performed on the engine of a ship generally during a preliminary trial run at sea, which testing requires a time consuming adjustment of the engine of the ship. This traditional performance testing requires a substantial amount of time and typically protracts the preliminary trial or shake-down run, thereby increasing its expense substantially.
There has been a need for the testing of the ship's engine prior to the trial run at a location and during a period of time when equipment, personnel, and even spare parts are readily available and can be provided within a very short time during the testing of the engine.
Attempts have been made to use so-called stationary testers or testing techniques in a harbor, such as where the ship is moored. Such stationary tests are typically run in a facility specially designed to provide for the mooring of the ship and also to accept the very strong propeller currents generated thereby. Even with the provisions of a special facility of this type, the performance tests on the engine can typically only be run in the lower range of engine speeds and therefore only provide a very limited amount of data and testing compared to the preliminary trial or shake-down run at sea. Therefore, the prior art stationary testing methods and apparatus were not an ideal substitute for the trial or shake-down run at sea, in which runs the engine or engines could be tested over a wide range of engine speeds and loads.
Some examples of prior art relating to the general field of shipping are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,829, issued on Mar. 6, 1979, entitled "Compound Remote Control Device for the Propulsion Engine of a Ship's Variable-Pitch Propeller", and U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,898, issued on Jan. 31, 1978, entitled "Ship Performance Analyzer". The contents of the aforementioned patents are incorporated herein by reference.